As the result of a lack of a coherent and determined response from congress Governments which had ruled in New Delhi since the late 1980s, Islamic terrorism has grown into a hydra-headed monster, with innumerable tentacles which include:
* The indigenous Kashmiri organisations, whose objective is limited to J&K--either merger with Pakistan or independence. They have no linkages with Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda. * The pan-Islamic Pakistani organisations. These are essentially four in number--the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM), the Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HUJI), the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) and the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET). All of them are members of Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front For Jehad Against the US and Israel. Their agenda extends to the "liberation" of Muslims all over India and to working ultimately for the creation of an Islamic Caliphate in South Asia.
* The SIMI, which has a following in North India and Kerala. Some of its initial office-bearers came from Kerala. It has linkages with the Kashmiri and pan-Islamic Pakistani organisations, but not directly with bin Laden's set-up.
* Al Ummah of Tamil Nadu, which too has linkages with Kashmiri and possibly Pakistani jehadi organisations. It is also suspected to have linkages with Islamic extremist elements in Malaysia and Singapore. There is no evidence of its having any direct nexus with bin Laden's set-up.
* New groups, which have been sprouting up in the North East by taking advantage of the presence of a large number of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
* Dawood Ibrahim's gang and other trans-national crime groups working for the ISI, which provide logistic support to various Islamic terrorist elements.
